Q: Ministry Spokesperson Hamlet Gasparian Responds to Question by New Yerevan Times on the brutal murder of the Armenian Officer by the Azeri Officer in Budapest:

A: We express our indignation over the brutal act committed by the Azeri officer, which has caused a great shock and outrage in Armenia. Such an act is the logical consequence of the warmongering statements of the Azeri government, old and new, and of the anti-Armenian hysteria that has been left unreined by the Azeri authorities over the years.

The horrifying act and the way the crime was executed reminds one of the anti-Armenian pogroms in Sumgayit, in Kirovabad in 1988 and in Baku in 1990 much before the Nagorno-Karabakh War started.

It is evident, that Azerbaijan's state policy of anti-Armenian virulence has crossed the bounds. Unfortunately, under the new President, such policy has been preserved and given new impetus.

Armenia has considered - and considers - Partnership for Peace an effective framework and format for many things, including normalizing its relations with Azerbaijan. However, our approach to the Partnership has not been reciprocated by Azerbaijan - even prior to this unprecedented act. There has been not a single PfP event that has not been used by official Baku for blatant and unsophisticated anti-Armenian propaganda.

We reconfirm that the commitments which countries undertake in the framework of the PfP are irrevocable and have to be fully respected as is demanded by the spirit of the Partnership.

We expect that the international organizations will appropriately assess this crime and react. At the same time, we demand that the Hungarian authorities punish the perpetrator to the maximum extent of the law.